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"Recast"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, AU, and an unlikeable Heero, Trowa,
and Quatre, but very nice Wufei and Duo Pairings: 1+2, 2x5x2 Summary: Wufei pursues Duo, who has been forsaken at the altar and is now trying to sort out his life, aiming to turn lost hopes into paradise found. A/N: Thanks to Waterlily for generous feedback
and improvements to the story throughout. "Recast " Chapter Three
"When you are going through a rough spell," Duo said, "what keeps you, I don't know, from falling apart?" "Grow through the struggle and turmoil; it's the only way to progress forward." Wufei lowered the kayak he'd been carrying and set it afloat beside Duo's. "A poem. I studied literature in college and have a head full of nonsense, but that one seemed apropos." "Poem, huh? Not much of one." "Haiku. It's all in the form. Forget it." "I don't know. I like the 'progress forward' advice." "It is better than going backwards." Wufei's smile seemed hesitant, or shy, like sighting a rare bird; one moment and it's gone. "True, and since I've learned so much from my mistakes, I think I'll make a few more," Duo quipped. He liked Wufei's smile. He liked to see it. He was beginning to see it more and more and wondered if it was mostly for him. "Duo, knotty issues are knotty issues, and not all have been resolved." "Isn't that the truth?" Duo smiled back. "You've made your life more complicated, coming here." Wufei didn't argue. When asked, he wouldn't tell him what had happened back at the Preventers headquarters, what Wufei had said to Une and his fellow agents before quitting. That was looking backwards to things he couldn't change; it was the future he focused on. It was advice Duo would be wise to follow. Duo might even feel he should agree, but he wanted more from Wufei, a stripping down to the soul sort of thing. Instead, Duo watched as he made another one of his dismissive hand gestures. Not this time, Duo thought. "It's the adman's promise that you can change your life with a product," he said. "What are you selling? Why did you come here?" To his surprise, Duo hadn't annoyed his friend with his harsh line of questioning. Wufei's smile went all dreamy-like. "I thought: life is very short and you don't know when you will see someone again." That threw Duo for a loop. What did he mean by that? He wondered if Wufei, maybe, had a girlfriend back home he was missing? "I'm sorry if coming here made you leave someone special behind," Duo said, thinking he nailed the problem, but Wufei's expression became one of supreme frustration, and he knew he had taken the wrong track. "What? Not at all. I left nothing behind," Wufei snapped defensively, and struck the water hard as he paddled ahead. Nothing? Not your career, home, friends? Wufei must have liked him- a lot- to have made the move he had. "You are sure not leaving me behind!" Duo shouted and plied the brackish water with his own paddle and sent his kayak skimming out in front. "You don't know where we're going." "That I don't," he agreed. Wufei didn't often leave an argument so readily. So, Duo determined, they weren't ready to talk about why Wufei was really drawn to the island to see Duo. Not quite yet. Duo took them in and out of pools, calm streams, and across a few lagoons. No falls or rocky rapids. "Class five is more work and more likely to end up with someone dead," Duo chattered on about the route possibilities. "I've no need to risk life or limb for excitement anymore," Wufei agreed. He'd become terribly agreeable, Duo thought, in his old age. He had the sense not to say that aloud. A stone wall rose from a jumble of what appeared to be abandoned buildings. "Turn in here," Duo shouted. They paddled into the cove and dragged their kayaks out of the river and onto the sandy shoreline. Lunch was purchased at the small village when they got out and stretched their legs. There were a few tables outside a low building which overlooked the stream they'd been kayaking. While waiting for their simple orders to arrive, Duo and Wufei watched workers repairing the crumbling road. A few were in the water securing new timbers preparatory to doing some bridgework. "Something's wrong. Look!" Wufei pointed at the agitated-looking men in the water. Then the serving boy from the restaurant appeared at their table. . "Big storm!" He plucked at Duo's wrist and insisted that they come inside the small building immediately. Wufei pushed him away and demanded to know what was going on, and then the rain hit. Water and rocks were literally pouring down the sides of the pit and filling it. The workers were yelling at each other to get out of there as you could hear the rocks hitting the scaffolding below. The scene was surreal. "C'mon!" Duo yanked on Wufei's arm and they dashed to assist any trapped workers. They helped the last two men up the slippery side; the rest were already running for cover. Their help hadn't been needed, but it was in their blood. Good deed done, the pair rushed for cover. Wufei peered out the dirty window, feeling muddy and more than a little damp. "I can't believe how it went from sunny to pouring rain." "And filling the river so quickly. Yeah it's covering the rocks there," Duo confirmed. "You can actually see the river rising. Just look at that muddy water pouring over the hill side! Like it was right out of Indiana Jones!" "Who?" "Um... an adventure movie. We'll download it later and you'll see." Duo's cell buzzed and made him jump. No one called him. Work occasionally, but not on his day off. "It's Quatre." "Talk to him, Duo," Wufei advised, gently. It was the look in his eyes, compassionate and warm, that convinced Duo to do as he said. "Hey," he answered. "Duo? Is that you? Really? At last! This is Quatre." "Quat? Yeah. You'll have to talk louder. There's a humongous downpour banging on an aluminum roof." "Well, that answers my second question. It sounds like you're under attack." "It feels like it. So, I'm doing okay, if that's what you wanted to know." "Yes. Good. I felt so bad and," Quatre said, his voice becoming somber and signaling the next news was the kind that should be conveyed in quiet tones, "Louisa hadn't been well." Louisa was Quatre's wife of three years. They'd been trying to conceive a child by the natural method, but had had the difficulties often found on the Lagrange point colonies, even though she had moved to earth when the two had married. Last Duo had heard, she was three months in and doing just fine. "She's okay now, though, right?" Duo could hear the strain in his friend's voice despite the storm and artificialness phones transferred. His eyes met Wufei's, drawing him in closer for support as he mouthed 'Louisa'. "Oh, yes, she's home from the hospital now, but-" The stretch of silence alerted Duo even more to something being very wrong. "Quat, what is it? We didn't lose connection, did we?" "I've been so preoccupied, that's why... why I didn't notice what was going on!" "What are you talking about?" Duo asked. Hospital, he mouthed again! Wufei folded his arms across his chest and leaned closer. "I'm just so sorry I couldn't be there for you when that... mission was going down. I should have noticed ... well, the effect it was having on you." Oh, that. Duo didn't know how Quat could have missed it, but, well...yeah. "Water under the bridge, bro'," Duo said, trying to dismiss the past. What was done, was done. Couldn't change it, no matter what Quat's involvement had been, intentional or not. Obviously, there were limits to friendship and in this case, circumstances had pushed past them, he guessed. It really was time to patch his heart move ahead. "So, tell me about the hospital-" But Quatre wasn't done. He hadn't said what he needed to, regardless of the fact that Duo didn't want to talk about it. "That day-" Duo thought he heard choked sobs, but the rain pounded on the roof making it sound like he was camping out in a bass drum during a Queen performance-or something. "- Quat-" "I thought you knew! I thought maybe Heero really meant it! I hoped you'd make something of it all later... after... And then when I dropped you at the airport, it was clear you'd been hurt badly. Oh, Duo, I'm just so sorry!" "Yeah, well, me, too, but I'm better. Kinda over it, mostly. Fei's here, you know." Wufei dipped his chin. He was here all right. He didn't appear to making plans to leave any time soon either, so Duo gave him a quick smile of thanks. "Yes, he called me," Quatre said. "I'm glad he's there. He needs... this too." Duo wasn't certain what it was Quatre thought Wufei needed or was getting out of his stay, except a much needed vacation. Duo felt deep down that Wufei would have second thoughts, give into pressure, which would eventually come from Commander Une, and return to his Preventers job. "I wanted to come and find you," Quatre went on, his voicing breaking up again. "That's okay, bud. We can't all drop what we're doing to go mollify poor Duo's hurt feelings. It's okay. I forgive you" "I called, but you didn't answer!" "I saw; it was nice knowing you tried, but I wasn't ready to talk about anything. I did message you back once to say I was alive and well." "I know. That was a relief. I was so worried! I sent you emails!" "Haven't read any. Really, Quat, until 'Fei arrived, I was pretty much ready to cut you all off. Sorry, but true." "And I don't blame you for feeling that way. I would have, well, I don't know what I would have done if my friends had done such a horrid thing as that to me. And I should have put a stop to it but..." "So why was Louisa in the hospital?" Duo asked, hoping to make the abrupt change of subject unmistakable to the man on the other end of the call. "That was in the emails I sent." It was Duo's turn to say he was sorry for ignoring them, since he now knew he'd missed something important going on; he urged Quatre to tell him what had happened. "The pregnancy... hadn't been going well... all month, and then that day... the mission... she'd entered the emergency room the day before." Quatre cried into the phone. "We lost the baby, Duo!" Our little girl. She would have been... was a girl... Shayna, after my sister that died last year." And there is was. Quatre had lost his first born; a personal tragedy that really and truly trumped his. "Oh, Quat..."You shouldn't have been there at all. You should have been given the time off... Quat..." Duo offered his sincerest sympathies and gave the phone over to Wufei to do the same, while he wiped his eyes. While he'd been swooning over Heero, he had completely neglected to notice what his best friend was going through. He'd only heard what he'd wanted to; he'd missed all the clues, how his friend was struggling to get through each day. Death and children didn't belong in the same thought. It brought back memories of young bodies riddled with disease and left to die; of the smell of burning flesh, charred bodies of children he'd lived with. No, children and death did not belong together, but Duo had them all wrapped up in his darkest memories. He listened in to Wufei's comforting words to Quatre and let them soak in and ease his heart as well. He wondered when the man had grown so thoughtful and caring. Wufei hadn't been the pillar of compassion when he'd known him during the war. Cold and arrogant, more like. But he'd not really kept in contact over the years and people change. Then he remembered how Wufei constantly referred to both incarnations of his Gundams as the Taoist protection deity "Nataku". His wife had called herself that, and when she died, Wufei had lost his childhood sweetheart! Wufei had been a fierce combatant descended from a long, proud line of Chinese warriors. He'd named his Gundam for her and chosen to carry out her path of justice in honor of her sacrifice. He'd fought in her name. He'd suffered a huge loss. Suddenly, Duo had a change of perspective. His false romance, the fake marriage proposal, being abandoned at the altar had all been sad and heartbreaking, and even though it had felt real to him, it hadn't been really real. Quatre had lost a child and Wufei a wife. The losses of true love overshadowed Duo's ten-fold and more. His viewpoint changed in a lightning bolt of realization. How self-centered he had been not to notice Quatre's suffering while he lost himself in a world of fantasy! Quatre should have known what was going on, but shouldn't Duo have picked up on his friend's unhappiness too? Duo recognized that he and Quatre had never been such close friends after all. The rain tapered off and he took back the phone. He had a good talk with his friend, promising to keep in touch better and extending an invitation to the couple to come visit any time. "Damn," he muttered as he ended the call. He really felt bad now. "I had no idea what he'd been going through, either," Wufei said, "if it makes you feel any better?" "Yeah, thanks. It's sobering-" "Still," Wufei went on to say, "Even under the circumstances, I find it hard to believe Winner couldn't pick up on the fact that Heero's feelings were superficial, at best, had been insincere from the very start." "He'd hoped Heero meant it," Duo countered weakly. He couldn't bring himself to admit that his best friend ... wasn't really. Wufei snorted in disbelief. He wasn't letting Quatre get off the hook for leaving Duo to fend for himself, which made Duo feel all warm and gooey inside. "It must have been obvious to him that you didn't know you were being set up for target practice for a bunch of lunatic terrorists! He left you vulnerable! He should have done something; he should have known! The damn fool's some kind of an empath!" "I don't know, 'Fei. I'm guessing that his wife's feelings took priority over mine. I'll bet my emotions didn't even filter through." "If I had been there-!" Wufei bellowed, really starting to get into his harangue. "Your food is ready, if you'd like to eat in here?" asked the young serving boy. Duo was glad for the timely interruption, not that he minded seeing Wufei getting all worked up, but it might frighten the locals. "Thanks," Duo told him. "Inside will be fine." Duo took one wobbly chair that screeched along the floor when moved. It set his teeth on edge. Wufei carefully picked his up, avoiding the noise. They were pressed close together at the tiny metal table, so tightly fit in that Duo felt Wufei's knee lightly brush his knee with each rumble of the departing storm. He became aware of Wufei moving his legs to sit cross-legged on his chair. How could he comfortable with his legs folded that way? It made him wonder about the man's physical flexibility. And his imagination replied, complete with video and sound. Sex with Wufei, oh yeah! His mind put a screeching halt to that; although, it took a few minutes more for the rest of his body to behave. It had been a long, long time since he'd had a lover. Nothing had happened between him and Heero, other than a couple kisses. Now he wondered how it was possible that he could have bought into that? Maybe Heero had drugged him? "Duo?" Wufei was offering him a towel. The serving boy had their orders resting on a side table and an armload of guest towels. "Er, thanks." It wasn't that he was cold, he was just wet and his braid was dripping wet river water in a pool at his feet. He took the offering and tied up his hair and then took another to sit on, and another to drape over his shoulders. "I might miss the changing seasons, if I was into them," Duo said as he looked down at his noodle bowl. "The changing seasons may have both positive and negative effects." "No kidding," Duo remarked with a roll of his eyes. Wufei shrugged and looked a little embarrassed to have wasted his breath on such trivial banter. "What is it about weather that makes people talk about it so much?" Duo quipped to cover for his case of sudden nerves. "Filler." Wufei chose a pair of chopsticks and tested his food. "The labor that goes into the dish hardly pays off in the eating." Wufei observed, but that was the sum total of their conversation. Duo decided that something was bothering his friend and that now was not the time to press him for particulars. He wasn't feeling very talkative either. And then the rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun with the heat of the sun bearing down. They ate quickly as the food had lost its flavor in spite of its careful arrangement on the plates. They left a tip and then gathered their equipment together. Duo's craft had washed a few hundred feet away and Wufei's was partly filled with water. "So, do we go on or-?" Wufei asked. The invitation to continue on sounded, to Duo, to be at best half-hearted. He lifted one side of his kayak and let the grimy water drain out. "We go back," Duo said. He adjusted the brim of his hat and rolled down his sleeves to protect his arms. "In view of... that... and I have work tomorrow, believe it or not." "That's right. You said you did. Will I see you?" "If you're not sick of my face by that time, heh, heh. Sure. Meet me at the hotel at noon," Duo said. "We'll do lunch." Wufei cracked a smile at Duo's lame joke and even lamer "cute" pose. "Lead the way home, then," he said, pushing off the shore. By the time they returned the kayaks, it was time to roll into Duo's nightly ritual and choose their dinners. Amazingly, they had worked up appetites again. Clams served with a baguette for sopping and spoon for slurping was their shared choice. They sopped up and gulped down. Wufei seemed lost in thought. Thinking to leave him in peace, Duo turned to check the time on his phone. And again. After a few minutes of watching Wufei poised in silence, he'd had enough. "Fish got your tongue?" Duo asked. Wufei shook his head. "'Fei? Spill. You really aren't good at keeping secrets." "I certainly am! Just... not good at hiding them from you, apparently. All right. I've been in contact with Preventers. No! Get that look off your face. I was not looking for my job back. I was researching." "Oh, yeah?" "I told you I would get to the bottom of what happened and get formal apologies." "It's not necessary..." "It is. Now, do you want to hear what I have to say, or not?" "If I said "not" would you drop it?" "I... I would. I would keep the information to myself, anyway." Duo grinned. This guy was amazing. Quatre would have forced the information on him for his own good, probably. "All right. Go ahead. Fill me in." "I knew you had the strength of character to deal with the situation," Wufei muttered in a way that made it hard for Duo to hear. That meant if it was in any way complimentary, he could pretend not to have heard it. "When did you have time to do this today anyway?" Duo asked, curious. "Winner asked for something he could do when we talked earlier. He just sent me back a few answers." "I see; Quat's working through his guilt. Okay, so what questions?" "I had asked why you and Heero were chosen, why anyone would have done as a couple instead." "It had to be meeee..." Duo warbled an old tune. "It had to be ex-Gundam pilots, the flashier and more easily recognized the better to draw the attackers. Yuy was convinced he was the preferred target." "He would. The universe revolves around him, you know," Duo said. "It didn't begin as a wedding event. Before I had walked into that one meeting and heard about their appalling plan, I believe Merquise suggested a ball at the palace, but the commander told the planning committee that Miss Relena refused to put any of the priceless paintings and building ornamentation at risk." Duo shook his head. He just loved how Relena had her priorities straight. "Not to mention guests?" "There was no mention of guests." Wufei met Duo's smile with one of his own. "No one admits to have come up with the wedding theme, so it was likely a decision from the commander." "Yeah," Duo felt a bit sick. "The terror plot was moving fast, apparently, and so Heero was allowed to take charge of much of the planning stages." "Figures. Not his forte." Duo shook his head. "And now we know why Quat wasn't leading the team. Poor guy." "Trowa was in charge of the swat team that took out the snipers and never was involved with the setup end of it at all." Wufei rubbed his eyes. He looked drained. "Of course he's married. That left Heero to choose between you and me, but I was locked down fighting that hopeless insurgency raging in Nigeria." "So he picked me. What luck, huh?" "Everyone assumed you were in on it." "Oh, please!" Duo moaned. "I know, I know... They'd been ordered on pain of death, probably, not to encourage you to break character and question or tease you. Something to that effect." "Right," Duo made a face. "I was in such a fog, believe me, I would have missed a Gundam walking me up the aisle. It just stinks." "I agree completely. The commander should have had you in the meetings from the start and informed of what was going on." "You know, ever since I left active field duty... she was not pleased to have me sitting behind a desk as a techno whiz." "For that reason alone you shouldn't have been in on that job!" "And I fell into the trap so easily. I can't get over that. I understand why, but... yeah. I was a sucker... and Heero?" "It was all about the mission. He's an insensitive boor and..." Wufei stopped himself from further insulting Heero. "He's been informed in very clear terms by Winner just how inconsiderate and plain stupid he had been to not include you in the mission plan. I think he added how insulting it was to him as well, not being informed. Had Winner been less distracted by his personal problems, he would have... I don't know... done something... made you think... slowed things down..." "Blown the mission," Duo muttered. "Not if you'd known it was a fabrication! No amount of reasoning is excusable. If anyone could carry out a subterfuge, it would be you, but it shouldn't have been you at all!" "Are you telling me that 'Ro didn't think I could play along, so he didn't inform me that it was all a charade?" "In essence. A ludicrous plan, flawed from start to finish." "But it worked," Duo mumbled. "Well, fuck him." Wufei grumbled something under his breath, possibly in Chinese, then disposed of their trash. "I've already had one good drenching today. I might skip the swim tonight." They stood on the porch of Duo's shack and looked at the towels they'd plan to reuse, the ones they'd left to dry the night before. Wufei shook his head and clicked his tongue over the clothes and towels they had hung out to dry the day before. "It rained here, too." "Those towels never had a chance," Duo said. "I have one last bunch that's dry." "There must be a place to wash and dry clothes nearby." Wufei glowered into the darkening distance as if he could make a Laundromat materialize by force of will alone. "Are you offering to do it?" Duo asked. He'd been only partly joking about it. He had work to do and hated chores that messed with his free time. "Yes, I'd be honored." He smiled, showing teeth. "Really, I've been living off of our generosity long enough. It's the least I could do. And when we go to lunch tomorrow, I need to locate a bank and cash out some credits." "Ready to carry your share of the load? Heh, heh." Oh, best not to toy with the dragon, he prompted himself. His friend was looking a bit tired and tattered around the edges. "It's okay, 'Fei. You're out of work now, too. And you aren't any real additional expense-" "Nonsense! I can and will pay my way. Let's hear no more about it." Wufei charged into the hut and emptied out his rucksack. Duo watched him stuff worn clothes back in. "Give me your things," Wufei barked out his orders. "I can clean everything at once." Duo didn't argue. He jumped at the commands with a grin he tried to staunch, and set to gathering his scattered used things. He added them to the bag, punching everything down to make it all fit. "I have a laundry bag here. The wet stuff can go in there." "Good idea." Duo glowed from the praise, which he thought was an odd way to feel after being bossed around his own home, but didn't care. He liked Wufei, even fussy, overbearing Wu, and discovered that pleasing his friend made him feel good, too. Warm. Fuzzy. Nice. "Here's the route to the community laundry place. Not far, just weaving back into the trees for a little ways. Can't miss it." "I'm sure I won't. Do I need anything? Detergent? Coins for operating the machines?" "Take the jar. They use those locally-minted tokens." "I've seen them. Is that legal?" You sound like a Preventer still! Duo didn't say that aloud, he shrugged it off. "Who knows? It's what passes for money at the laundry. And don't worry about paying me back. You can take us to a nice restaurant for lunch. I know a good one, not fancy, please, give me some credit. I'm not dressing up ever again! Heh, heh... well... not to eat!" "I see. Well it appears I have at least three loads to do. That should keep me occupied while you slave over that upgrade code." "Yeah, slave. That's me all over." And Wufei smiled. A big smile. One Duo didn't think to read much into. He'd made Wufei smile again, so his work was done for the night. "Let's hit the sack, er... hammocks. What you say?" "I say I'm ready to collapse." They lay there thinking their own private last thoughts for the day, when a roar of croaking started up. "Dear God, what is that?" came the plaintive cry in the dark. "Frogs, 'Fei. It rains; they mate. Exciting life. Go to sleep." "Frogs have it right." At least that's what Duo thought he heard Wufei say, so he chuckled. TBC
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